Alone
by Blood.Drop.Lolita
Summary: He refused to allow his feelings to become anything BUT disgust, but even a trained wizard knows there is no way to control the heart. eventual KyFan, hinted FanChum. Rated T for now, maybe changed to M if need be.
1. Breakfast Muffin

_I do not own Fanboy and Chum Chum, only this fic. Rated T for angst, slash, and all the other dramatic goodies people love to burst out of these things :3 Beginning's a bit slow. _

* * *

That absurd outfit, those ridiculous teeth that protruded over his large lips. His slight chin and awkward, lanky build were only enhanced by a pair of large ears that stuck out straight from his head from years of wearing an insidious purple mask. He'd been wearing it for years, even his friend Chum Chum had grown board with the whole super hero escapade. He remembered that had crushed Fanboy and he'd been gone from school for two weeks to sulk. That had been the longest two weeks of his life since he'd been forced to move here.

Though he looked no better, his teeth jutted just as far, if not more, and were further emphasized by being glammed up with heavy metal braces. He had begged for the clear plastic kind you slip onto your teeth so he wouldn't look more awkward than he already did. Denied, of course.

Sure he had powerful spells tucked away in his Wal-Mart robe, but he had no friends at all. His elf was never kind nor were any of the other beasts he summoned up. Occasionally there were some but they turned out to just be creepy and stalkerish. Kyle was indeed very alone in this world. It was something he had grown to accept as one does that they will one day perish from this earth. He hoped that his departure would be sooner than most.

Their winter break had began yesterday. Joy, a whole week to sit at home. He was bored with his books and spells. He had mastered everything and he was unable to purchase any new materials to further his studies. He was stuck attempting to be a normal child… though he had no normal things. There were no model planes or cars, no video games or cards or sports balls to distract himself. No computer to chat with his nonexistent friends…

He sighed and rolled over in bed, pushing his auburn locks from his eyes. Puberty was not being kind to him. His face was currently pockmarked and his stature was best compared to a stick bug, long lanky and awkwardly uncoordinated. Despite his rapid growing he was now the shortest in the class next to Chum Chum, and that wasn't saying much. Kyle had been, reluctantly, noticing the short boy more. He was hefty, but no where near as portly as he had once been. Muscular is the proper term, maybe even "built" perhaps. Puberty ADORED him, and Kyle hated him for it. Chum Chum was adorable, perfect skin and his teeth already been corrected. He was funny, confident, and the star football player in their middle school. Kyle had been alarmed to hear that the tub of pudding he used to know was now even better versed than he was in academics. Kyle's grades had began to slip last year when everything began to change..

But he preferred not to dwell on those matters. They only further depressed him.

The wizard scooted out of his bed, swinging his long thin legs over the edge and slipping his feet into his maroon fuzzy slippers. The teen stood up and stretched, joints cracking unhappily at being made to move so early after such a late night. He sighed contently and a goofy smile overcame his face. There's nothing like a good stretch.

Kyle shuffled off into the hall, to the bathroom. He did his normal routine, use the lavatory, wash his hands, shower, brush his teeth, shower because he felt dirty after dribbling toothpaste foam on himself, and get dressed finally. Everything he encountered was spotless and clean, it had to be clean or it was untouchable and that was simply something Kyle could not have. He growled in frustration as his shirt has touched the edge of the toilet rim. It was filthy now. He tore it off himself and washed his hands, then put on a clean shirt. He looked at the clock. That only took him two hours, a new record for him. He signed and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Kyle made a face at himself as he often did when seeing his reflection. Hideous monsters were supposed to make funny faces, he would already reason with himself. It wasn't so much his FACE as it was his teeth. He was excitedly waiting the 16th of next December. He was supposed to be rid of them then.

The red-head chuckled and turned out the light.

"Right then… hrm.." Once downstairs he pilfered through the cabinets for a possible breakfast. There wasn't really anything to chose from. Infact there wasn't anything in there but an old jar of peanut butter and a small mouse nibbling on what appeared to be the remnants of a stale cracker. He sighed and his face dropped to his usual scowl ,teeth jutting out to a ridiculously exaggerated amount. "Fine. Have it your way."

He put on his long coat and boots and stepped outside. It wasn't as cold as he was used to this year. Probably the damn global warming his school kept cramming down everyone's throats. Sure, he cared about the polar bears but he went to school to… actually.. Why DID he go to school other than he was forced to? He was far ahead of his grade level, he was just lazy now. And that is what he would only allow himself to believe. Laziness was much better than stupidity.

Kyle glared at the ground while he trudged along in the slow flurries. The sky matched his mood: Grey, dismal, distant, what have you. He heaved another sigh when he saw a familiar purple in the distance.

"Of course." He muttered under his breath and braced himself for impact. There was no where he could go, he was not about to risk getting smashed by a car to avoid a confrontation with Fanboy… Then again, would that really be such a bad thing? He entertained the ideas of car accidents, what it would feel like to be squished in two and lay there on the side of the road, whimpering in agony, pleading, then being forgotten there to rot over the next 3 months. Much like his dog last summer. Stupid dog.

He blamed himself.

These ideas distracted him from the reality that was about to -

Kyle grunted and slipped backwards, as did the obstacle he had been hoping to avoid. He hated what Fanboy's presence did to him.

The red-head put on his best disinterested scowl, "Oh its you. Why are you outside with no coat on, you imbecile. Are you TRYING to kill yourself?"

The teen was distracted with his own thoughts. Kyle stared at him a moment before asking, keeping the concern out of his voice, "Did you hit your head too hard?"

Fanboy looked up," What? Oh. Hey Kyle! Wow can you believe all the snow we're gonna get tonight?" He laughed and hoisted the disgruntled Kyle up to his feet. Kyle had heard nothing about snow and raised his eyebrow in question, wiping his hand on his coat.

"Yeah, we're supposed to get a shitload of snow! I can't wait. Too bad school still isn't in session, snowy days off are great but snowy snow days are even better. Hey, I was on my way to the Frosty Mart to get a frosty freezy freeze. You wanna come with me?"

Kyle made a face, "Why on earth would you drink a slushy in the winter?"

"First off, it's a _freezy_ freeze, NOT just a slushy. And why not? They're best in winter cause they get even frostier and freezier." Fanboy practically salivated right there at the thoughts of the sweet cold drink he had basically deemed god.

Kyle thought it over. He WAS hungry and they had breakfast muffins around this time of day…

"Fine, I'll go." He said finally and pulled his jacket around his exposed neck more.

"Awesome! And awayyy we go." Fanboy grabbed Kyle's arm and dashed down the street with him, or at least he started to. Kyle pulled away roughly like Fanboy's touch was corrosive acid. His voice came out more harshly than he'd like," DON'T touch me. Ever."

He instantly regretted it, seeing the faint sting of hurt on Fanboy's face, "Yeah sure dude. Don't gotta get so pissy about it. Come on."

Kyle sighed and they walked to the frosty mart in silence for a ways. They had never been friends, though they had known each other for three years now, had been in all the same classes, and even had the same interests. Kyle would never allow it to happen, he couldn't trust he wouldn't harm one of them let alone how his feelings would react.

Being starving for companionship warps the mind.

Kyle cleared his throat and broke the silence, "Why are you up so early? Don't you normally sleep in on days off?"

"We vampires have to travel when its cloudy, right?" Fanboy shrugged. Kyle rolled his eyes, he did NOT want to get back on that topic ever again.

"Riiight…"

"That's probably why you keep covering your neck up, afraid I'll try and get a free nibble." Fanboy grinned.

Kyle raised his eyebrow and shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Haha. I dunno I just felt like getting some good morning air." He smiled and inhaled deeply, "Mmm, nothing like the smell of frozen garbage and smog floating in the air to really make you wanna take another nose full."

"Oh yes." Kyle chuckled sarcastically, "I don't think I can wait another moment."

They shared a few more awkward jokes and some laughs before arriving at the Frosty Mart.

"Aw man." Fanboy exclaimed miserably at the "Closed" sign. Kyle peered around Fanboy to look at the sign, then squinted so he could see into the dark store. He hated the two people that worked there, lazy rude slobs who had no right to steal a job from someone who might actually need it, "They're in there, they're just being the disgusting urchins they are." He pushed the door open and it jingled. Cold air hit him like a hammer and he instantly withdrew into his coat as much as possible.

Fanboy stepped inside, taking Kyle with him and not touching him as asked.

"C'mon, I'll show you how me and Chum Chum do it." He dashed over to the machine. Kyle's ear perked some. Why _wasn't_ Chum Chum tagging along like he always did? Perhaps they'd had another fight?

He shuffled over to the machine as instructed and made a noise of alarm when his head was forced down to lay on the shelf and his mouth pried open. Pink slushy mix poured down his throat and chilled him to the bone, not to mention gave him a hell of a headache.

"Argh! Get OFF me!" He pushed Fanboy away from him and smacked his lips. He smiled then caught himself, "That was awful, I don't see how you drink that everyday!"

"Aww, c'mon Kyle I know you like it EVERYONE likes Freezy Freezes." Fanboy shoved his head under the blue side and helped himself to a mouthful of the slushy.

"Well apparently I'm not lumped into that rats nest." He folded his arms over his chest and glared with disinterest. He had adored the taste but he didn't want Fanboy to know he actually enjoyed the sugar-laiden nectar, "You've ruined my appetite with that bile, too."

Fanboy wiped his mouth and smiled. His teeth were stained blue.

_He looks ridiculous_. Kyle thought to himself. _I wish he would smile at me like that more often…_

"Soooo… I guess you'll just have to have a freezy freeze to-"

"Keep myself from vomiting with the aftertaste it leaves? Fine."

Fanboy chuckled, "Sure. What flav-"

"Blue."

"Ah, great call that's my favorite kind. Or pink. Or blue."

"Perhaps you should try mixing them." Kyle shrugged. Fanboy stared at him, mouth agape like he had announced Man-Artica was going to be his new roommate, "Er… what?"

"_MIX_ the two together? Kyle!" Fanboy shook him by his shoulders, "that's GENIUS!"

Kyle growled and removed his hands like they were filthy garbage. They were, "I know _that_. It's a shame your _just_ realizing this."

Fanboy fumbled with his cup excitedly and poured an equal amount of each into the same cup, stirring it with the straw. He looked at it like a mother does her newborn child before sipping it.

"Mmm! …mggg…." He wrinkled his nose and swallowed the mixture reluctantly, "_Woahhh,_ scratch the genius part, Kyle. That was gross."

He went to pour it out and Kyle swiped it from him, "you ingrate, how dare you waste food." He took a sip off it without realizing he was supposed to hate them, "Hm…"

He found the flavours strong and neither overbearing. It was perfect, "It's alright, it's still slop but it tastes better than the others."

"Eh, it's all yours buddy." He made a face at the cup then got himself a blue freezy freeze. Kyle couldn't help but be a little offended at the look of disgust he had been given. The child had once had mushrooms growing off him because he refused to bathe for Christ's sake.

_Oh stop being so dramatic and enjoy your damned slushy. _He told himself.

* * *

End chapter one.


	2. Slushies and Exploding Straws

Chapter 2

Kyle sipped his Freezy Freeze silently, his straw squeaking with each sip. His legs swung idly off the wall they were sat upon. Fanboy's straw did the same, continuously. In light of the events that had happened over the years, they couldn't help but share a sleep deprived, sugar induced fit of laughter.

Finally the laughter settled down, a faint smile still remaining on Kyle's face. He had not laughed in so long, genuinely and innocently laughed. He watched Fanboy out of the corner of his eye discreetly and munched on the biscuit he'd acquired in the Frosty Mart.

Fanboy seemed distant… different, he could not place the emotion on the teen's face. Normally the teen was transparent. Or was the transparency another guise?

"Why do you wear infernal thing all the time? Look, its even dry rotting." Kyle motioned to his face.

"Wull, why do you wear your cape?" Fanboy shrugged, "Doesn't it show who you are?"

"Yes, but mine is of a different status mine isn't…" _made up._ He paused to see the change in Fanboy's expression. It wavered just enough for him to glimpse into the real soul of the teen, "er, you know. Mine is a sign of my power and rank in the wizarding world."

Fanboy chuckled, "You got that at Wal-Mart last year in a reduced bin."

"Silence." He huffed and folded his arms over his chest. Yes, he had done that but only because his other had been destroyed when his pet got a hold of it. For some reason cape repair wasn't allotted at Milkweed because then students wouldn't have to be careful with their uniforms.

It was a _stupid_ rule and every attendee there thought so, minus the headmaster who had set the rules, of course.

The teen chuckled again, "Sorry dude, but you did. We were with you, remember?"

"No, you two stalked me and chased after me with your arm-loads of candy." Kyle scowled.

"Oh _yeah. _That was a great year, me and Chum got more candy than we've ever gotten! We had _three_ cavities from the haul, that was two more than the last year!"

"Quite." He said simply and finished his biscuit, wiping his hands together to remove any crumbs.

"I've always loved superheroes and I've always wanted to be one. I know that sounds kinda dumb now that we're older, but… It's like how some kids want to be a doctor or a soldier… I've just always wanted to be a hero to someone and keep people safe."

Kyle hadn't expected this to lead into a deep meditation. He nodded in response, unsure of what to say to that.

"Like, When me and Chum Chum would play I would always end up being the hero in everything." He toyed with his straw, bending it this way and that, "I miss that… Hey wanna see something cool?"

"Er… sure?" Kyle scooted away a little and eyed him warily. Normally anything fan boy perceived as cool was something that would either jump on him, make him vomit, or explode in his hands. Possibly all three.

"Lemme see your straw"

"What? No, its mine I need it to drink my slushy." Kyle hugged his cup away from Fanboy defensively, "Use yours."

"I can't, its been bent and it wont work if its bent. C'mooonnnn, just give it to me. I'll even let you have my straw."

Kyle stared at the saliva coated plastic with a horrified expression, "Id rather not."

Fanboy whined loudly, "Come ON You don't even like frosty freezy freeze."

"I… damn." Kyle still refused to admit he liked them, "Fine." He thrust the cup and the gleeful Fanboy, who removed the straw from the empty cup and chuckled faintly, setting it beside him.

"Now watch. My dad taught me how to do this." The masked teen rapidly twisted the ends of the straw up so that there was a small, extremely tight air pocket in the middle of the straw.

"Flick it." He turned some so Kyle could flick the middle of the straw easier.

Kyle signed and rolled his eyes, "_Why_?"

"Just do it or your straw will of been destroyed for nothing, and that's just ungrateful. Tsk tsk, Kyle." Fanboy shook his head.

He grumbled and flicked it. The straw snapped loudly and sounded like a firecracker. Some people stopped and looked around quickly then resumed their commute a little more cautiously.

Fanboy cackled wildly and Kyle chuckled nervously, "Y-Yes I suppose that was funny.." Kyle couldn't see what was so hilarious about an exploding straw trick… but he did enjoy it, for whatever reason…

_Ugh, this idiot is probably draining my brain cells… My lord, what if the freezy freeze is numbing my mind? It's a slushy dammit! Do NOT call it a freezy freeze!_

Fanboy blinked and watched Kyle curiously. He wondered if the wizard was aware that he mumbled to himself like the bag lady in the next neighborhood. He poked Kyle's side experimentally and earned a strained squeak, followed by a glare.

Kyle smoothed his look of alarm over, "I said not to touch me, you buffoon."

"You kind of started spazzing out." He grinned and pulled out his vibrating phone. Kyle briefly wondered what kind of obnoxious ring tones he had spammed throughout that phone. It was probably from Chum Chum, who more than likely had his spammed full of stupid things as well, and any moment now Fanboy would say he had to go and ditch him for the younger of the three like he always would.

He was jealous. And angry.

"Aw, sorry Kyle I gotta go. My dad wants me to help em clean out the garage. They're movin', isn't that cool? I get the house _all_ to myself."

"What?" Now that he thought about it, he had never met Fanboy's parents.

"Yeah, they live right below the fan lair. Not anymore though, they're moving over to Cedar."

"The one with the bag lady?"

"Yup, that's the one. If you want you can come help." Fanboy nudged him playfully, "On second thought you get exhausted eating an apple so that's probably not a good idea."

Kyle was offended, "I do NOT."

"Yeah you do, after lunch every day you look totally wore out. Well, if you change your mind you know where it is. See ya later Kyle." He pushed off the wall and took off down the street, his tattered and patched up cape fluttering behind him.

Kyle stared after him a moment before returning his gaze to the ground. He signed and hopped off the wall. He made a face of confusion and touched the seat of his pants. Why was his cape sticking to- he sat in gum.

"Of course."


	3. One Month Anniversary

Chapter 3

"Hey, Fanboy." Came a voice from behind him. His ears instantly started burning at the tones he had not heard in over a month.

"Hey, Chum." He turned and smiled sheepishly, setting the box on the ground, "How've you been?"

"Oh, you know me." He giggled and shrugged, "I've been pretty good. I might be getting a job at the Frosty Mart soon. The management finally realized that Boog pretty much quit so they're looking for new hires, and since I already know how everything works there's a good chance I'll get it."

"Haha, that's great Chum Chum. Maybe you can hook me up with some free Frosty Freezy Freeze."

Chum giggled, "Yeah. Anything for you buddy."

Fanboy smiled gently, the conversation taking a turn for silence. They had not spoken in ages it felt like. He could not believe how much Chum Chum had changed in a month, he looked so confident and happy. Even under his bulky coat you could tell he definitely worked out, unlike himself who was as lanky as he'd been when he was an tween.

"So, me and Yo are doin' pretty good too." He added.

"Oh." Fan's face fell slightly. He became aware of this and forced a sly smile to come over his face, "Ya'll gonna get married eventually?"

"Yeah and we'd have a million of those weird Yamaguchi things." He rolled his eyes and smiled, "I dunno. We do go pretty well together. She's gotten to a normal cling level so now I can at least go to the bathroom by myself.

"Yeah." Fanboy chuckled weakly and resumed pushing the boxes over to U-haul to load them up.

"You movin'?"

"Huh? Nah, my parents are though. Plus my gramma lives about two houses over so they know I'll be ok. It isn't permanently, just for a month or two."

"Aw! You're so lucky!" Chum whined, "I wish my parents would move out. They're constantly bugging me about school and 'why aren't you practicing?' or 'don't eat that, you'll get fat again.' The BEST one was last week, I was tired and taking a nap and my dad was all 'sleep? You don't need sleep, you'll get all the sleep you'll ever need when you're dead." He said the last bit with a chuckle, "I love 'em but they're really irritating. Between Yo and them, I literally never get to be alone."

"Maybe you should hang out here more." Fanboy blurted without thinking. Chum had not set foot in the Fanlair after that night.

"Um… I dunno, maybe. They get really pissy when I stay out at a friend's house anymore."

"Oh. Alright."

"But, I will hang around and help you with this." He smiled and lifted two boxes easily, "I know how you normal kids do good to life your lunch tray," he added teasingly.

Fanboy grinned, "Hey, everyone knows it's the mashed potatoes weighing that thing down."

He and his friend shared a laugh. The sounds melded so perfectly together. He missed their clubhouse being filled with those melodies every waking moment.

"Thanks, Chum."

"No problem, Fanboy." He smiled, "Maybe you could come over for Christmas dinner?"

"Will there be awesome apple and blueberry crumble and turkey?" Fanboy inquired skeptically.

"Nah, ham this year with cherry cobbler."

"Ham? Cherries? Cobbler? With?" Fanboy threw the box marked 'fragile' in the back of the moving van, "of _COURSE _I'll come!"

Chum giggled, "Great! I'll tell my mom tonight. She's been askin' why we haven't been together lately…"

"…what did you tell her?" His heart skipped from his chest to his brain and made him feel instantly nauseated and dizzy.

"I told her that we've been busy with school and that Yo had been taking up all my free time." He shrugged, "The truth."

"So you never…"

"Fanboy, you're lifting that wrong." Chum Chum cut him off.

The masked teen lifted it properly in silence. He needed to let go of that night and these feelings, because they would eat him away inside and kill him like a massive parasite.

They chatted idly for hours. Gradually the sun turned the grey sky a soft pink and yellow. It had to be past six.

"Wow, I'd better be getting home!" the younger chuckled, "See you later Fanboy!" He called after his friend while he jogged down the sidewalk back to his house.

Fanboy sighed and sat on a half deflated basket ball. He looked around at his surroundings dejectedly, resting his chin in his hands. Chum Chum didn't even want to talk about it. That made him feel even worse for what he had done. He had ruined their close friendship, and him alone.

He hated himself for it.

* * *

Chum Chum opened the door to the kitchen and slipped in, taking his seat at the table, "Sorry I'm late I was helping a friend clear out their garage."

"Great use of your time, gotta build those muscles." His father nodded approvingly.

Chum chuckled weakly, "Yeah…"

"Who the friend, dear?" His mother smiled and served him his plate, meatloaf and mashed potatoes. One of his least favorite meals.

"Oh, Fanboy. His parents are going somewhere for a while and he needed some help loading stuff up."

"That was very nice of you dear. I'm glad you two also got to spend some time together. Have to be careful not to let those friendships fade, because once they do, they're changed." His mother added and retook her seat after getting some more sugar for her tea.

"How come that boy ain't been in any sports?"

"Oh… You know Fanboy, sports aren't his thing. He was thinking of joining…" don't say theatre, "woodshop, you know because he's really good at building things, dad. His mom is an architect so that might be why he has a head start on everyone else."

It wasn't a total lie, he was thinking of joining shop, too, so he didn't feel as guilty.

"Shop is an excellent class, I took it, and the table your eating off of right now I made myself when I was his age." He ran his fingers over the finely polished wood. Chum actually hated the table and how often it was coddled.

"Looks great, dad." Chum patted the table lightly then scooped up a forkful of the runny potatoes and smeared them on his slap of meatloaf. He briefly wondered who thought to put meat in loaf form. It sounded like an amazing idea but the result was an abomination, "Oh, mom, Fanboy is coming over for Christmas dinner. Is that ok?"

"Of course, you know he's always welcome in our home. I was going to ask you this morning if he was coming as he normally does but it slipped my mind." She giggled.

"Haha. Ok, I'll tell him." He ate his food quickly then excused himself from the table. He went upstairs to his room and shut the door. The smile he had forced on his face was nearly permanently glued on. He was an excellent faker, maybe he should join theatre too.

Chum kicked his shoes off and flopped onto his twin bed. He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling fan. It's blades would comfort him, the gentle swooshing of the air and the hypnotic movement carried him away as quiet shore did for others. All quiet shores made him have to do was pee. He made a noise of contentment and relaxed himself into the soft bed, feeling his mind drift further and further away.

The teen was instantly disturbed out of his lightly sleep by the rapid buzzing of his phone. He lay there a moment longer and rolled over onto his side to pick up his phone.

The screen greeted him with: Mailbox full.

He sighed, "Yo…"

Chum scrolled through the messages, some were annoying forwards then rest were quick texts gradually increasing in length and desperation. He hadn't meant to stay at Fanboy's for so long. He knew she was worried but 150 messages in the course of four hours was a bit much. He rolled back onto his back and made himself comfy again, deleted all the messages. He was flooded with even more texts.

Chum dialed her number and closed his eyes. He was glad he had just eaten because he was probably going to be here for the rest of the night.


	4. Changing spirits

_Needed filler. So sorry for the delay… Life is not a kind mistress haha. _

Chapter 4

Kyle grimaced at himself in the mirror. The Freezy Freeze certain did its damage to his teeth and tongue, not to mention his lips and… were his braces dyed the sickly blue-green as well? In the best terms, Kyle looked like a corpse.

He turned out the bathroom light and went off to his bedroom and sat on the dark green sheets that were tucked into his bed neatly. His room was very tidy, and spotless to boot. It looked unlived in. Kyle lay back in the soft covers and stared at his ceiling. His eyes drifted to a fly crawling around on the bumpy texture. He made a face of disgust and zapped it into nothingness.

Flies were filthy vermin who would make him ill.

His mind wandered back to today with Fanboy. He had had such a wonderful time, why did he set himself up to never be apart of those times. _Why_ was he always so cruel to the masked teen, and even worse to the other. This was more a rhetorical question, rather than a pleading statement.

"_Young children often express feelings of love through cruel words and abrasions." _came the dry voice on his book shelf.

"Oh shut up, you're wrong." Kyle huffed and rolled onto his side, curling into himself with his ratty teddy bear he'd had since he was small. He toyed with the loose strings gently, not wanting to unravel the delicate bear.

"_You know it is never a good idea to hide from your own self. That's how many ended up here." _The book ruffled its pages slightly to make his point.

Kyle rolled his eyes and said nothing. What was there _to _say. He was bitter at his parents for sending him to this hell hole of a town, to live with a family who was literally never here and always off doing something else _away_ from him. They were some sort of distance relative on his father's side. They made it their point to continue being distant. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to, the only thing different here was the fact the children made an attempt to include him in their lives. He always shoved them away, a natural instinct. But even in London, his parents ignored him, he ceased coming home for holiday breaks because of was often ignored or put to work in the kitchen, and ignored there.

Needless to say he was extremely awkward and the only thing that saved him in conversations was his bitter wit. In America, his wit was considered amusing and sexy. Back home, it was something that often ended with him laying in a corner clutching his nose or his stomach. So this was a normal night, wallowing in his self pity and sinking further into black hatred for everything around him. He shot up and scuffled downstairs, humming quietly to himself as he went. Through the living room with walls littered of pictures of people he had never seen, through the den and into the study. He crouched on the ground and opened the glass case. He carried the bottle with him and got himself a cheap plastic cup and poured himself a generous portion of the deep amber liquid. He knew he would be sick again tonight, but Kyle could honestly care less at this point. The teen returned the bottle to its dusty cabinet. He was thankful the family seldom drank their hard liquors, otherwise he would be sent off to live with his grandmother, who was about 80 and barely remembered to breath without reminder.

Kyle took his cup upstairs with him, back into his dark room, and closed the door behind him. He sat near the window and lifted the blinds so he could peer at the moon tonight. The sky was clear and crisp, and had it not been for the streetlights he would be able to see millions of stars dotting the sky. That was one thing he missed about Milkweed, was he could sit out on the lawn, totally devoid of light, and just gaze for hours and become lost in the entrancing twinkling of the distant holy bodies. Sometimes he would see a strange creature streak over the bright moon and smile to himself, only faintly, knowing he had glimpsed a real dragon while most of the students had never seen their first griffin.

Kyle sipped the drink, feeling that familiar smoky burn and gave him a sudden urge to heave and choke, but he would always fight it and savor

its amazing effects on his mind. For a few hours his brain would be dulled and silenced so he could have a small reprieve from himself.

"_Ah, yes. Familiar spirits. A few more sips and you'll end up like your uncle one day." _The book said with disinterest from his shelf before yawning and drifting back off to sleep. Kyle shrugged, his mind already swimming with incoherency. He sat the empty cup in his waste bin and crawled into his bed. He signed contently at how comfortable everything felt to him now, and how warm it was.

If only he could feel his way all the time.

He gripped his bear tightly and nestled under the emerald sheets before finally drifting off into a deep, dreamless, but sure to be disturbed, sleep.

* * *

"Man it sure feels different around here…" Fanboy said quietly and looked around at the nearly barren house. His parents had already gone to sleep. He didn't blame them; it _was_ nearing two in the morning now. The teen picked up the last box and sat it in the garage to be loaded into the moving van the next morning. He went outside and climbed up the ladder to the water tower perched atop the home. Fanboy wondered if anyone would be moving into the available rooms below him. He was worried to death someone would and they would demand his hang out me torn down because it was an "eyesore" or it "violated building zone laws" or something anal like that. Relief would spread over him and sooth him because, his mother was skilled in her craft and his father never took no for an answer, especially when his son was involved.

Fanboy plopped on the couch and stretched out, yawning. He kicked his black converse off, the shoes making a satisfying 'thud-ump' on the floor as they rolled for a few seconds upon impact. He was excited about seeing Chum Chum soon. He had missed the boy to the point his heart ached and his chest hurt; Fanboy had learned to sleep on his back or his side as opposed to his stomach because the pain was often too intense. Thoughts of the night that constantly plagued him bit and nagged at this fragile mind. He had questions he often asked himself. What if he had gone slower, what if it had happened differently? What if… he had just never tried?

He pushed that guilt away with Kyle. He felt guilty, always using Kyle when Chum Chum was either not around or needed to be gotten rid of. Fanboy made a face, his train of thought obviously taking a turn.

Tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow would be better, and this week would be more different than he would ever care to think.


	5. Stale Coffee and Snowball Fights

_Ok so, why is it so late?_

_I stayed at a friends house for a month on a vacation, so I didn't get much writing there (only about half this chapter then half of a few others), then I got home, after a while of being home my computer I was writing this on got an effing virus. I am in the process of transferring the files from that one to this one (they are virus free so do not fear fan fiction community, they have been scanned). I hope you enjoy, and thank those of you who waited and I apologize to those I said this would be up in a week. Also, just as a warning, updates will be delayed on all my fan fiction as I have started college and it enjoys eating up all my time it possibly can. Enough with my babble :3_

Chapter 5

Fanboy awoke from his slumber and stretched lazily, yawning loudly then nestling back into his warm covers. His bed felt empty and that familiar longing was back, gnawing at his chest and heart. He sat up and swung his long legs over the side of the bed, standing, and stretching again. The masked teen ran his fingers through his hair and scratched every now and again before slinking off tiredly to the bathroom so he may shower.

He discarded his pajamas on the cool floor and hopped into the shower. He was the type to start the shower after getting in; he liked to be surprised and often the initial jolt of either scalding or freezing would wake him up fully. Fanboy massaged the golden liquid into his chocolate brown locks, scrubbing fiercely then slowly calming it down to a gently rub. He closed his eyes and leaned into the stream of warm water and tilted his head forward so the water would run freely over his hair. He opened his eyes and stared blankly at the long trickle of cloudy liquid that streamed from his hair. After this task he set to washing himself and then getting out, not caring how wet he got the floor; no one was here to take offense.

The teen yawned again and slipped into his green skinnies, followed by his cheap Wal-Mart tee and black converse. It was a few months ago that he had decided to trade in his superhero get-up for something more modern and functional, especially after he had been told it was all pretend and make-believe.

Fanboy had lost his taste for crime fighting and comic book collecting after that conversation.

After eating a quick breakfast of cold strawberry Pop Tarts, he pulled his dark green jacket over his shoulders and zipped it up halfway. Finally, he adorned himself with his trademark mask and walked out the door when it was all finished.

It shut behind him with a satisfying click, the sound soft against the gentle morning winds.

His eyes scanned the area. He adored to gaze over the town from this spot. Fanboy often felt like a sniper hiding up here, waiting for the right person to walk by so he could pick them off and watch the others scatter. He remembered he had seen a movie like that when he was younger, then his mother making him leave the room.

The child had peeked around the hallway door and watched with wide, innocent eyes curiously fixated on the pools of red that came out of the writhing, shuddering bodies.

The next day he and Chum Chum played sniper.

Fanboy chuckled to himself and hoisted his thin body down the ladder. He was sure to watch his footing, as the ground below was patched with ice; he didn't want to end up flat on his arse like Kyle did last year. His smile fell as he became pensive about the auburn-haired teen and yesterday. A small flutter traced along the walls of his stomach and cause them to contract. The light gasp that escaped his throat startled him, as did the feelings thoughts of Kyle brought about.

He shook those ponderings out of his skull and started off to his destination.

* * *

Chum Chum rubbed his eyes tiredly and slammed his fist down on the screeching alarm clock, taking several tries to land a correct hit. In the process he managed to knock over his water and numerous pictures Yo had placed there during her last visit. He had stopped looking at the clock when it rolled around to four o'clock in the morning, being angry and himself and Yo both for his constant sleep deprivation. Just once he would like it to be the other way around, but he knew that no matter what problem he could come up with she would always top him. He had begrudgingly accepted this as fact and allowed life to go on as normal. When he had tried to bring it up before he was greeted with tears and quivering sobs followed by a tantrum, even though he had not uttered even two syllables.

The teen pulled his phone back up to his face and glared blearily at its brightly illuminated screen.

_Mailbox full. Please delete messages to continue._

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he tossed his phone aside and stood up from his bed. He hated having to follow his normal school schedule during the vacation days he had been graced with.

Chum Chum went downstairs, deciding he would simply take his shower later after he ate, and sat at the table, rubbing the sleep out of his honey-brown eyes. His mother set a large plate of wiggle pigs, bacon, and eggs in front of him, accompanying it with orange juice, milk, and whole wheat toast. The latter of all these he utterly despised and saw why he could simply not enjoy white bread.

_White bread is a carb that acts like sugar and it's not sustaining to your growing body. _These words nearly came back up into his mouth when he forced the bite of toast down his gullet. After breakfast he would exercise, shower, then practice for a little while, and shower again with his father. The teen tapped his fork against the plate in thought, a notion that was not taken with much enthusiasm.

"Please stop that, dear, you know how much I hate that sound." His mother forced sweetness into her tone to hide the sudden rage that noise caused her to have. Chum Chum nodded simply and resumed eating his eggs, piling them atop the brown, plain toast in an attempt to hide their bitter taste. To no avail.

He thought about seeing Fanboy again today if he had time and hanging out with him. It would be nice to rekindle the friendship. When his thoughts drifted back to that night his mind also wrapped around other memories that he would force away, and shame would settle in his cheeks.

"Are you alright? You seem a tad flushed." She said, knitting her eyebrows in worry and placing her cool hand over his forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine mom. Just a little warm in here." He chuckled. He would never say he was feeling ill again because then he would not be permitted to go outside. If he was well enough to go outside, he was well enough to practice, and if he was well enough to practice, then that is what he should be doing with his time.

His mother nodded in agreement and sipped her coffee soundlessly. Her regal-stature with the drink honestly annoyed him. It was as thought she always felt the need to be perfect and make everyone around her perfect with butterflies and rainbows coming out of their ass.

He chuckled again to himself and pushed his now-empty plate away, "Can I go see Fanboy later today?"

"Of course, dear, you can do whatever you want. It's your break, after all."

No it wasn't, it was his father's. He did not say this, knowing better to just stay silent and go along with what they said. Chum Chum pushed himself away from the table and stood, washed his plate off and put it in the dishwasher, and went off to begin his morning exercises.

* * *

Kyle opened his eyes and growled at the light assaulting his eyes. His head throbbed and his mouth was excessively dry. He ran his fingers through his hair before resting his thin hand against his sweaty forehead. He had little memory of the night before, let alone the day. He scowled at a sharp pain that surged through his left eye and held it by pressing the heel of his hand into the throbbing socket.

The redhead did as he always did every morning: pulled himself out of bed, took a shower and primped himself for the day in repeated obsessive compulsive motions, and went down to the kitchen to find something to eat, of which the latter he never succeeded.

He sighed in annoyance, large teeth jutting out further to comically exaggerate his irritation. What was it with these people and never being home. What the honest point in them owning a home.

He threw slung his jacket on in a pissy manner, topping off his leaving with slamming the door loudly behind him. Today was his duty to check the mail so he could not walk his usual morning route to the store, rather he had to go into the opposite direction to the post office. The teen gazed up at the sky as he walked carefully through the snow-covered sidewalk. Large flakes drifted down lazily and coated him. The sky was darker than it normally was this time of day, for this he was pleased. He loved to watch the snowflakes float down hypnotically from their perches in the sky.

Kyle felt a small twinge of disappointment as he walked into the post office, the snowflakes no longer landing on him and fusing with his jacket and hair. He kicked his feet against the metal door frame to remove the compacted clumps of snow from his converse and shuffled off to the family's PO Box, exploring through his pockets to find the small key.

His heart leapt upon seeing a letter for him in the confines of the bills and magazine reserves for the good housewife and the obnoxious four-wheeler obsessed child. He tucked those for the other members of the household into his inner jacket pocket and stared at the letter. It was addressed to him, from his biological parents. He had received a letter from them only one other time since he had been here, when he first moved up here. The envelope was thick, and beautifully adorned with his mother's perfect penmanship. He decided he would open it later, as he had no idea what would be in lay in its contents and did not want to make a scene. Kyle tucked his envelope into the opposite inner pocket, withdrew the key from the box and slipped it back into his pocket, and left the post office to once again be greeted with the beautiful dancing of his snowflake friends. The cold air burned his nose and throat upon inhale, and burned further when he exhaled. He loved the sensation, the clean feeling it left his lungs with, as though he had ran until his lungs nearly exploded and he finally got that full, steadying breath after hyperventilation.

Slowly he made his way to the small store, now wanting to suffer from the creeping warmth that shrouded one when they walked inside a warm building after being out in the snow. He was absolutely covered in the white flakes when he arrived at the automatic doors. They opened for him, greeting him with the cold hiss of the grinding gears and belts located inside. Smells of pastries, groceries, and cleaner wafted through the air. This was a smell he did not enjoy. It was too industrialized, too clean.

He scoured through the various isles, looking for something that would classify as nourishment. As Kyle had gotten older he had grown a building disgust of most snack foods, and could not help but grimace upon passing a shopping cart ladled with the stuff. Don't get him wrong, he loved sweets, just sweets that weren't swimming in hydrogenated fats and sodium and came in the industrial family jumbo pack that was slowly becoming a single serving.

The teen approached the bakery section and pondered aloud over the selection.

_Blueberry muffin, Apple muffin, Lemon muffin… knowing this town probably a meat-infused muffin in there somewhere… ah there it was._

The Wizard shuddered at the thought.

He decided on an old standby, cranberry muffin with a hazelnut and caramel coffee.

Kyle sipped the hot liquid as he left the store. He snarled his nose; the coffee was old. He took a bite of the pastry. At least it was fresh, though it was a little hard on the top, he had learned that this was about as good as it got.

Purple swept past his peripheral vision as his muffin was swiped out of his hand. Kyle scowled and waved it off, really not in the mood to put up with these antics so early again. His stomach could just growl until it dissolved itself in his churning stomach acid.

"Hey, Kyle!" Came the voice, wavering from exhaustion, from behind him. He rolled his eyes and continued to walk in the direction of his house.

"Hey Kyle! Kyle! Kyle! Kyle! Ky! Ky! Ky-"

The wizard turned around abruptly to snarl obscenely at the purple masked menace, but swallowed them audibly when he felt the cold nose, red from the biting cold, against his own. Fanboy shoved his forehead against Kyle's in a playful manner, further emphasizing both his annoyance… and the spreading heat creeping over Kyle's face.

"Are you busy are you huh? Huh, are you?"

_I never noticed he has green eyes. They're actually quite nice, like a shade of emerald but not quite dark enough, but not light enough to be anything else. I wonder what that shade is… _

"Uh… Kyle?"

The redhead slowly snapped out of the pleasant pools that threatened to fully pull him into their shimmering orbs. He made a noise of surprised disgust and leaped about a good foot from the teen before him.

The anger was suddenly back, his face hot.

"What? What could you possibly want, NOW. You've already taken my breakfast, and absolutely _ruined_ my already dreadful morning, you invaded my personal space, yesterday you-"

Fanboy blinked, confused, and knitted his eyebrows to mirror his feelings, "Kyle, are you ok? You're acting even pissier than normal."

Damn. It was the booze coming back up, not in his throat, but in his head. His tongue tended to get a bit looser than it already was.

Kyle sighed, his body seeming to deflate along with his anger, shoulders lowering and head lolling off to the side along with them, "I'm fine. I feel homesick."

Fanboy's expression softened, knowing how that felt. His home already felt like a different place, and his parents would be visitable… he couldn't imagine how Kyle felt, his parents being overseas.

"I'm sorry dude." He handed the dented muffin back to its owner, who took it emptily, "Hey, what did you normally do around this time of year? Maybe we can find a way to make this place feel like home to you."

Kyle snorted and took another bite of his muffin, "that's impossible."

"C'moooonnn."

The wizard continued to eat his muffin in silence, staring at Fanboy with a bored, dull expression. Silence continued for several minutes before Kyle swallowed the last bite and crumpled up the paper, "You aren't going to leave until I tell you, are you."

"Nope." Fanboy smiled broadly, bucked teeth jutting over his chapped lip.

"I liked to walk through the park when it snowed."

"The parks down the street a few blocks, why don't we go now?" His brilliant Fanboy brain was already concocting an idea.

"I don't know… " He faltered over his words. There was no logical excuse he could find to get out of this. He sighed after a moment and shrugged weakly, "sure."

Fanboy beamed and grabbed his friend roughly by the wrist and dashed off to the park, dragging his loudly wheezing friend behind him, who was obviously not as fit as he was. Cold snow whipped against their faces. Fanboy was thankful his mask protected him from much of the stinging pellets, and Kyle was becoming incredibly pissed off being dragged along like a doll, now with his face being in blistering pain and his bangs soaking wet, matting to his forehead.

Fanboy came to an abrupt halt, both of them skidding on the icy sidewalk slightly before quickly stumbling into the snow covered grass, the delicate frozen blades snapping and crunching under their feet. Kyle straightened himself and drew his coat around his thin chest for warmth. The trees in the park were beautiful right now, barren branches weighted with heavy snow, their nearly black silhouettes against the milky grey sky. Everything was hush quiet, not a soul in the park on such a cold day… everyone was inside, cozy in their beds, or at work in their warm cubicles. He pitied them, truly, for they did not know this was one of life's greatest pleasures.

Solitude.

He closed his eyes and smiled faintly, listening to the small, barely audible crinkling patter of each snow flake as the rested with their brethren

The miseries of yesterday and his hang over began to subside with each melting flake on his skin. He tilted his head slightly upward to feel more of their gentle kisses on his flesh…

_Twump._

He screeched in alarm as a massive one full-force knocked him in the back of his head. Kyle turned to see Fanboy laughing behind him, smiling genuinely. The joy proved contagious, the wizard smiling before he could stop himself. He instinctively gathered up a clump of snow and fashioned it into a makeshift ball and hurdled it at his "attacker", it successfully hitting its mark of Fanboy's chest.

The masked teen was impressed, with how out of shape Kyle was he was able to get some good distance. Chum Chum would have been impressed too.

His smile wavered slightly, but he shook his head to push those thoughts away for now, compressing his hurt into a tightly packed ball of fresh snow and repeatedly pelting the now giddy Kyle. The snowball fight escalated into a war, both using trees and shrubs for makeshift forts before making shoddy ones out of powdery snow. After what seemed a short eternity they both collapsed into the snow, thoroughly exhausted, exposed flesh bright red and their fingers achingly numb. Their chests were in agony with all the frigid air they had gulped in, and they were probably going to get pneumonia from all the melted snow making their clothes damp.

_This_ was what winter was about.

Kyle, eyes half lidded from tiredness, watched the snowflakes drift lazily down and disappear from view.

"Feel at home yet?"

Kyle turned his head to face Fanboy. He rolled to his side, propping himself up with his elbow, staring intently at him.

The wizard chuckled faintly, a hint of bitterness ringing through towards the end, pausing, "…It couldn't be that because someone was actually paying me attention."

Fanboy blinked and tilted his head slightly, "You mean you've never had a snowball fight?"

"No." Kyle replied simply. It vaguely came back to the masked teen that Kyle admitted to he and Chum Chum he had never had a friend in his life, but he'd just assumed that meant at school.

Apparently he meant even within his family.

"Didn't your parents play with you outside?"

The wizard paused for a much greater period before responding, "I suppose when I was little, but no, I honestly cannot recall any time when they were outside with me in the snow, or in general."

"Oh…" Fanboy drew a circle in the snow, "I'm sorry, dude."

"That honestly did not bother me, though. Even though they were somewhat neglectful, they honestly were never very cruel I suppose. I enjoyed their company when the rest of my family was gone, because they could then devote their attention to themselves or me." He interrupted himself with a sigh, "My feelings about them are conflicted."

"Well that's normal, kids are supposed to feel weird about their parents. It's like the law or something."

"I don't suppose you've ever felt any harsh will towards yours, what with you being showered with everything you could ever want." Kyle close his eyes and inhailed deeply; the phrase wasn't exactly meant to come spewing out with such intense jealousy.

Fanboy shrugged simply and turned the corner of his mouth up in a makeshift smile, "They're alright. I guess you shouldn't feel any for yours, since they paid for you to go to one of those expensive private boarding schools."

Kyle paused and then chuckled faintly, humorlessly, "Touché."

Perhaps the dimwitted were not so dim in their wit,

"C'mon. I'm freezing my ass off. Let's go to my place any play video games for a while." The younger stood abruptly as he often did and hoisted his friend up before any word of defiance could be uttered.

It was getting pretty cold outside and a nice hot drink sounded nice right about now.

As long as it wasn't stale coffee and dented muffins.

* * *

Don't worry. There's drama brewing, a whole fresh heaping pot of it for the next few chapters.


	6. Bar Soap and Greasy Popcorn

Chapter 6

Chum Chum wiped the sweat off his brow and hoisted himself off the weight bench. His muscles screamed in their burning agony, but, no pain no gain as they say. Tossing the crumpled plastic water bottle aside he tossed his pajama shirt into the dirty laundry and continued to strip along his way to the downstairs shower (which was just that, a simple shower in a room no bigger than a closet just for him to shower after workouts and not stink up the rest of the house), pulling the opaque curtain behind him. He both loved and hated to shower down here. He hated the lack of privacy, because there was no door he could actually shut, but he loved being away from his parents suffocation for a while, especially in his own home. The basement felt like his, he was the only one who came down here. It was basically his nanny, keeping track of him and keeping him busy and in line while is parents were so close by but living their own lives.

Why couldn't he just do what _he_ wanted? Rather than conform to the stereotype of the good ol' American teenager. He slowly worked the bar soap into his hair (his father felt shampoo was basically a female's product, including that made for men because of how flamboyant it smelled) and lathered it up. He swore silently as some of it made its way into his eyes, giving them the feeling of being ripped asunder by millions of little stinging teeth. Chum Chum rinsed his hands off impatiently and pried his defiant eyelid open, running water into it and flushing out the little stingers. He blinked rapidly a moment and sniffled out of normal reaction. It wasn't until he realized those sniffles were becoming more of an involuntary action and the burning heat in his eyes was escaping down his cheeks that he was crying. He wiped them away roughly as though they were poison and threatened to burn their trail into his skin, telling on him.

He sat the green soap down in its dish blindly and rested against the smooth tile behind him, staring up into the waters that stampeded out of the thin shower head. He narrowed his stinging eyes at the water, wishing he could break free like each droplet. But when they were granted freedom of the immense pressure they were under… they would fall, alone and crash on the hard surface below them. They would slide down the drain, never to be seen again, never again would one be able to identify that one individual droplet.

"You doing alright son? It's starting to get darker outside, and I don't want you going to meet your friend with dripping hair, you'll get pneumonia." Came his mother's voice from upstairs. It wafted down the stairs, slipping past the plastic curtains and caused him to cringe and grit his teeth. He exhaled shakily, his momentary solace being shattered around him.

"Thanks, mom, I'll dry my hair before I go."

There was no reply, only her retreating footsteps and the shutting of the basement door. Chum Chum closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. It felt dry and it hurt his scalp to touch it because of how the rough strands snagged on his finger tips. He grimaced and shut the water off, stepping out of the shower onto the cold concrete. Even the towel he had placed down did nothing to protect his feet from being so suddenly greeted with biting coldness. Chum dried himself off quickly, roughly drying his hair not caring how much he might have pulled out. He slipped into some simple clothes, thick denim jeans and a school pride shirt followed by his favourite neon orange jacket. It was tattered and torn in various places, each snag and rip holding a memory. All of which, now, cause him to be wistful and have a lump form in his throat. Things had changed so much for everyone, even Boog was different… Boog was gone, Lenny basically stopped existing after the closest thing he had to a friend was arrested for possession. Chum kind of drifted away from the Frosty Mart after that. Town had changed, his classmates had changed, the parents were different.

Was this a normal part of growing up? Was everything supposed to come to a slam-ass stop and suddenly shift, leaving everyone dangling in mid-air like he often did from his underwear with Fanboy in elementary school? He chuckled faintly.

Those were good times.

Smile still etched on his youthful features, he zipped up his coat and put his hood over his still damp hair and clambered out silently through the large window in the workout room. No sense in trudging upstairs just to trudge back downstairs to leave. He tied the worn laces of his sneakers and inhaled the cool air, choking on it at first, then easing into it.

The old hangout was his first and only destination today.

* * *

"Dammit! That's so not fair, my joystick was stuck!"

Kyle grinned smugly, "Don't blame bad gaming on your controller."

Fanboy furrowed his eyebrows, not out of anger, out of determination, "Nuh-uh! It was totally the controller!"

"That's so childish of you-"

"If you don't believe me then _youuuuuu _play with it."

"…Fine." Kyle said finally and swiped the controller away from his friend, Fanboy taking his in return. They engaged in furious ninja battle, Fanboy winning with ease.

"Ha! Told you it was the controller." The masked teen grinned triumphantly and stood to go get them more popcorn to share. Kyle grinned nervously, it quickly fading. Heat flooded his cheeks. Ugh curse himself for becoming so easily embarrassed. But he did truly hate to be wrong, but he also would rather be wrong than admit that he had lost that time partially because he sucked with the character Fanboy had chosen.

"I'm getting kind of tired of games. Maybe we can watch a movie?" Fanboy said as he plopped back down onto the couch, bouncing several popcorns out of the large, butter covered, plastic bowl they had once called home.

Kyle stared at the controller, toying with the buttons that pushed in easily due to repeated mashing. Warm fingers brushed over his already heated cheeks, making him jump in response and snapped him out of his gaze.

"What the bloody hell are you doing, you'll get grease all over my face."

"You ok? You're like, really hot. Well, not like hot hot, like hot." He shrugged, "Why're you always so jumpy and weird?"

Kyle sighed and realized he had been clutching the arm of the couch. He released the fabric and rested his hands in his lap. _Because you make me feel out of control of myself? Because I'm terrified of allowing someone to be close to me?_

"Because I'm not used to this much interaction and you _know_ I hate having my space invaded." He decided to better phrase those two thoughts into less… forceful spews of blunt truths.

"Eventually you're gonna have to get over that. What're you gonna do when you get into college and have to sit in those huge rooms with all those people? And if you ever go to the city, people are gonna be all up in your business." Fanboy chuckled, "Promise I won't suck your brains out or anything, but you could get used to me."

He could get used to him yes, but did he _want_ to get used to him? Did he actually want someone that close to him, that imbedded in his mind, to know things about him that he had tried so hard to keep hidden under numerous blankets of shadows…

The decision was made for him when a loud ringing came from the front door, and it also gave him an excuse to move away from Fanboy's extending hand, "Someone is at your door."

"Aw man I hope it's the pizza guy. Not that I ordered a pizza, but hey sometimes you get a new guy and they deliver it to the wrong place. Nothin' better than free pizza on someone else's tab."

Kyle chuckled weakly, humorlessly and settled back into the couch. A sudden knot was forming in his stomach, twisting and causing him extreme duress and anxiety. Something told him he shouldn't be here right now. He knew he was in no danger… no, that was not the feeling…

What was it?

Fanboy had been gone from the living room for some time, about five minutes. He knew it better than to pry, but it was obvious this was not a pizza man. He gently crept over to the edge of the wall and peeked around it, seeing neither Fanboy nor the door being open.

_Hm. How queer. Perhaps he stepped out for a bit, or maybe he just went to the bathroom. _

The knotting feeling continued, twisting and pulling, causing his mind to race and jump to conclusion after conclusion…

_He's ditched you again, you idiot._

_Don't you know you've no place being here?_

_I bet he doesn't come back._

"Oh shut up." He muttered to himself under his breath. An arm wrapped around his waist and cause his face to blush bright red again.

"Sorry about that." Fanboy chuckled and whirled the wizard around to flop into the couch. Kyle's skin had prickled from being touched in such a manner, and it sickened him to know that the elated butterflies in his stomach were a direct result.

"So that was Chum Chum, would you care if he came over for a while? He's using the bathroom right now. If not that's cool."

Fanboy was asking _him_ if it was alright for _Chum Chum _to hang out with _them_? Oh happy day.

"Er… sure." It slipped out before he actually had time to mull it over. The smile that spread over Fanboy's face was well worth sharing his attention for a while. Kyle settled into the couch, hugging a sheet over himself and resting his head against the piled up half of the blanket, "I think I'm going to relax a bit and you two play for a while."

"Hrm… ok Kyle." He found his friend's sudden obedience strange, but then again Kyle was honestly just strange all around.

Chum Chum came into the room, drying his hands off on his pants; force of habit. He grinned faintly at his rekindled Fanboy and took a seat next to Kyle.

"How's your winter going Kyle?" He said in his normal chipper way.

Kyle exhaled comfortable and shrugged, "It's the same as it's always been since my arrival here. Yours?"

"The same as normal since puberty hit." He chuckled and took the controller from Fanboy, "I'm always blue."

Fanboy smiled, a faint sadness behind it, "Sure thing, buddy."

Things were this way for a while, wistful looks at certain remarks, both seemingly embarrassed when they reached for the popcorn at the same moment, skin brushing over skin, sometimes elbows bumping against each other and it turning into a who-can-knock-the-other-over-mid-game-session game. The more Kyle watched… the more the happy butterflies become angry, and tore at his insides to escape rather than flutter and tickle his insides. The more he wanted to push Chum Chum away and take the seat closer to Fanboy. He narrowed his eyes slightly and clenched his fists around the blanket until his knuckles were white.

This feeling was…

No. He utterly, and completely, refused this.

"I forgot, I have something I needed to do tonight." Kyle said and stood, tossing the sheet off him.

"Aw. Do you really have to go Kyle? I know it's pretty boring watching other people play games, why don't you stay and we'll all watch some creepy movies together?" Chum Chum smiled. Some of the jealousy dispersed from Kyle's stomach. He did not dislike him, quite the opposite, when they were younger he found Chum Chum a bit more tolerable than Fanboy at times. He was more pensive in his thoughts and actions, more careful to pay attention than his older friend.

"Thanks, but I need to be going. I've been gone all day, someone might start to worry about me." The wizard forced a chuckle, "Thanks for the nice evening." He added awkwardly and turned from the two boys, taking his leave.

"Kyle seems like he's depressed." Chum Chum said calmly while he turned off the game station, "It's good you two are starting to hang out more though." He paused, removing the game disk and inserting a DVD, then added, "I'm glad you haven't been alone."

He _had_ been alone. He had been alone through all of it.

"Thanks Chum Chum. Me too. I'm glad you're back though. I've missed having intelligent conversations about absolutely nothing at all." Fanboy chuckled and swung his legs over the edge of the couch, leaning against his friend who had settled down into the cushions again, "you know?"

The younger nodded and sipped his soda, keeping his mind as one track as he possibly could right now.

Because he had rekindled the friendship, he was at risk for rekindling other things.

"You and Yo doing good still?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. We're great. We are going sledding in a few days, maybe you and Lupe and Kyle could come. If she can come, I'm bringing my cousin too. She loves the snow, but they don't get much of it where she lives." Chum Chum shrugged and sat the empty can down.

"Yeah, I think that would be awesome! It'll give everyone a chance to just have some fun together outside of school." Fanboy said happily and shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, "Oh! Hey did you know-"

Chum Chum half giggled, "Quiet Fanboy, the movies starting." He played with the loose fabric of Fanboy's mask absentmindedly as they watched the science fiction movie neither of them had seen. The elder found it difficult to focus on the storyline. He was too focused on the shivers trailing down his arms and spine. His mouth was suddenly dry and his stomach quaked. Fanboy glanced up at his friend briefly to soak up his illuminated features. He noticed his eyes more than anything. They were utterly exhausted, heavy circles encompassed the once bright orbs that had receded slightly into the skin. His jaw was firmly set; he was on edge.

Fanboy pulled himself up, making a scene of his back needing to be popped, earning yet another half giggle from his friend. He wanted to push the limits, as always, get his friend really going and basically laughing until he was gasping for air to laugh more… but he didn't. He played it safe, and let it rest for now. There was always time for that… he was just happy to have his Chum Chum back, to not be alone anymore.

Sudden guilt washed over him, making his stomach full of popcorn churn. He hadn't been alone… But he had been, he defended to himself inwardly. He furrowed his brows slightly at himself, his immaturity. Fanboy hugged his knees loosely to his chest.

"What's wrong Fanboy?" Chum Chum turned his head to give his friend full attention, away from the movie he had been saving for he and Fanboy to watch. He could always wait another day.

"Huh? Nothing, let's just watch the movie. I ate too much popcorn."

"We both know that's not true." The younger said flatly. Dealing with Yo and her drama had drained him of a lot of his daily life, hell probably some of his soul, but it did grant him a better ability to read people.

What could he say?

"I'm not really sure whats wrong, Chum Chum. I just haven't felt like myself since we fought. You know?"

Chum Chum closed his eyes a moment and nodded, "Yeah, I've been the same way. Things are really dull without you around." He slugged his friend in the arm lightly and returned his hand to his side, "But you act like there's more."

"I dunno I just don't know how to shut my brain off and I feel bad because I always ditch Kyle, and I pretty much use him for a replacement you when you aren't around and THAT makes me feel even worse. I don't mean to, I just do."

Chum Chum signed through his nose and paused, "Well… do you actually do it with that idea in your mind?"

"Wull… no, I-"

"Then you aren't using him. Anything else?" He searched his friend's face, knowing the questions were there. Fanboy turned his face away after a moment.

"No. That's pretty much it, besides the fact I've just missed having you around, buddy."

The younger nodded after a moment of silence, "When you come over for Christmas dinner, how about you stay the night too so you don't have to come back here. I remember the heating got busted last year, and I personally don't really wanna spend the entire night with my mom, dad, and grandma swapping old stories I've heard a million times." He grinned, "You can be my excuse to avoid my family on Christmas."

Fanboy laughed, "Sure. I'd love that, Chum Chum."

He knew that the invitation was in the right place. Things were starting to feel almost… normal between them, finally things were taking shape.

* * *

"Necronimicon!" Kyle said abruptly as he slammed the door open to his room, hair dripping with melted snow.

The book drifted lazily out of the confines of the dusty bookcase and yawned, _"Suffering a migraine from last night's tantrum?" _

Kyle shook with an emotion unbeknownst to him. He shook his head and glare at the book, "Make it leave."

"_Make what leave?" _The book arched its nonexistent eyebrow.

"The curse in my stomach, whatever keeps making it change because I CANNOT be... be having…"

"_Be having these feelings of your own accord?"_

Kyle growled, "these are not_ feelings_."

"_Then please, explain to a book who knows all living and dead creatures better than they know themselves, what this is you're experiencing." _The book mused_, "Humour me." _

"I… don't know, it's some curse! It's something horrible and terrible, it's something that refuses to leave no matter what I've used to drive it out."

"_Ah." _The book chuckled to himself, _"Perhaps delving further into your own conscious first before picking mine apart will lead you to your answer. Goodnight." _The book drifted back over to its shelf, ignoring its young master's cries of irritation.

The wizard settled down, face red and tears of frustration forming in his eyes. He bit his lower lip and kicked the clutter out of his way, not caring what or if he broke anything. He sat down on his bed and stared at his feet. He was outgrowing his shoes… but he refused to get a new pair, these were his they were "marked" as one may say. His body was falling asleep before his mind. Before he knew it he was paralyzed on his bed, his body involuntarily relaxing. He felt panicked.

Was he dying? Had he damaged a nerve? No one would find him for days…

Numerous things ran through his mind, until it too gradually began to drift off. The only compulsive phrase circling through his swimming head was _'I need to get rid of it'_.

The book sighed heavily from his shelf, the spell easily taking hold of the weak-willed child he had been attached to. He closed his hollow eyes and nestled in between the two dead books.


End file.
